By C. J. CHIVERS

Published: February 13, 2007

Tensions between the Kremlin-selected leaders in Chechnya spilled into public when the Chechen president, Alu Alkhanov, right, insisted that he had no plans to resign. The announcement underscored the pressures on Mr. Alkhanov from Ramzan A. Kadyrov, at left, the young prime minister who is the republic's dominant political figure. When Mr. Alkhanov began his four-year term in 2004, replacing Chechnya's assassinated president, Akhmad Kadyrov, the father of Ramzan, Mr. Kadyrov did not meet the post's minimum required age of 30. He reached that age last fall and has been expected to push Mr. Alkahnov aside. Mr. Alkahnov struck back in a statement on his Web site, alluding to the culture of fealty that surrounds Mr. Kadyrov and his violent clan. ''The cult of personality and deification of one man will not do anything good for the republic or its society,'' he wrote. C. J. CHIVERS